pancake

I think there's something wrong with the film or this type of film doesn't stretch/shrink properly. I tried again and just couldn't get it to work and so as an experiment, I cut up the film into 6 pieces and tried to shrink a rectangle the size of about 15" x 12" around the curved end of the glass.. No matter what I did, it would not shrink or stretch. Tried it wet and dry.

I always thought even with relatively flat windows, the fingers were not shrinking properly like I see on some of the youtube videos. The fingers on my film won't iron out very well. Even on flat surfaces. 

I think I'm going to have to try another film.

If you look at this video where I timestamped it..

My film does not shrink like this where he can work it up like that. The film feels very rigid. If you continue to heat it, the adhesive gets dried off and the film gets useless. 

I bought mine at tintcenter thinking solargard was a good brand but I might have to try something else. 

If anyone has any brand recommendations for something similar to how Solargard Supreme looks, I'm all ears. I already did the 2 front windows so would like it to be reasonably close visually.

21 minutes ago, JOHNNYBTINT said:

Not bashing your film, but I tried a few rolls of that film about two years ago and it was horrible in my opinion. Get your hands on some other film and see if thats your problem.

Yeah no worries. Solargard is the only film Ive tried but it seems from the youtube videos I've inspected.. my film doesn't move as quite well. It doesn't shrink or stretch at all. It's very thick and sturdy. I tried to stretch some old film with my hands just pulling on it and it really has no give.

I'll try a different film. Even when I put it on the window before I squeegee it, it has a lot more fingers than some of the videos I've seen and I think it's the film

Ah.. I'm still learning and trying to tint the back window of a 94 Camaro. Not only it is curved like a Corvette (think shape of the letter n) but it is also curved slightly concave near the bottom. 

I saw a video of a guy doing it outside and no shrinking and idk if it's some black magic type of stretch film he's using but it seems near impossible. 

I'm using solar Gard nr supreme and maybe it's the film but I don't know. 

I squeegeed from the middle but as I start to get towards the really long curve on the bottom, the tint is too tight that it starts to flare up. 

Thoughts?

Personal car so Im open to 2 or even 3 piece strategies to get it done

Yep, looks like blisters lol 

So thats normal even if there's a lot of them?

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to try filtered water and I made the mistake of spraying the inside of the window long before the adhesive comes off and then respraying it. I can see how it could trap dust in there. So going to clean it much better. 

The one thing I noticed was when looking from the outside in, there are hundreds of pea sized water drops. They're not bubbles but they certainly look like it but if you go to the inside you can see they are water drops. 

How do I minimize these water droplets? Or do you just have to wait for them to dry?

Thanks, I guess I have to try to stop exposure to dust a bit more proactively

Just now, BIG E said:

Are they scattered throught the window, or they in lines or clumps?

 

Not clumps just scattered randomly throughout the window

Still learning how to tint and one of the problems I'm having is that I'm getting tiny little dot bubbles once the tint is installed. Not the big 1"+ diameter bubbles you see when you think tint bubbles. 

I think the dot bubbles are known as "trash bubbles", it looks like dust basically. Kind of like when when you install a screen protector with dust trapped in it. 

I scraped down the window with a razor blade with soap and water and I'm very careful not to touch the tint on any panels and only peel back 1/2 or less of the adhesive to avoid contamination. And I try to move fairly quickly as to not let dust get in the window. 

Is it because I'm not cleaning the window enough? 

If there are little dust bubbles like this, are they going to get worse or would they just stay that way like a phone screen protector with dust with? It doesn't look noticeable only when you look close but obviously I want to learn to do it better. 

Yep its a nissan pathfinder!

2 hours ago, Bham said:

 

I always end up tearing that little strip you are talking about creating, so I just quit trying that.  You will see what I mean when you try it.  

 

Good luck with the shock mounts. 

Thanks! Luckily I have a 2nd windshield so I can actually use that as a template I realized

4 hours ago, Bham said:

 

The braid must be trimmed around.  It will leave a line as long as the braid on the sides.  Just paint that or fill with vinyl.  

 

As for the shock mount.  You can remove it and trim around the hole in the glass,,,, but the trick is putting it back on.

If the gasket part of the mount grabs to much film before it it FULLY CURED, then it will twist the film as you go to tighten the mount back.

My suggestion (if you have never done one of these)  would be to waste a piece of film and tint the whole glass best you can with the mounts in place, then remove that piece and use it as your pattern for the final install. 

This will help you with the final install to know what to look for as trouble areas.   

 

Awesome thanks for the tip. So what you're saying is, don't try to cut out a slim rectangle and try to get the defroster line through it but just cut around it and fill the tiny sliver near the edge later? The truck already has privacy glass so it won't be a big deal (at least from the outside you can't tell). 

I'll take a look at how hard it would be to remove the shock mount and maybe trying to measure or cut out a template for the holes before peeling the tint? Either way, thanks for the help!

How would you cut around the defroster line thing and the circle in this rear windshield situation? 

Does anyone know if this "nano ceramic" is similar to this privacy glass? 

I saw this on yelp it says "Matches factory glass"

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/xlnt-tint-anaheim-2?select=VdtiDhuFtfwpM1mJ4kRVvA

If so, where can I buy professional grade tint film so I can see if it matches?

On 5/6/2018 at 8:11 PM, F150Chic said:

Here's a better angle.

Hey sorry I missed this comment. Wow this is perfect. 

So to clarify, you put limo (3%?) in addition to the privacy glass in all the rear windows? Wouldn't that be insanely difficult to see out of even during the day? 

DynamicATL above wrote 50% + privacy glass would get you to about 12% I think.

Does your rear hatch also have privacy glass? That part looks black.

EDIT: Actually might be the angle. The 2nd picture looks privacy/mirror finish. 

34 minutes ago, Super Dave said:

I believe llumar used to make a film called Platinum Plus that did pretty good on those. Not sure if they still have it, but it’s worth looking into. Probably just do the fronts in a 35%, in my experience going darker in the back will only enhance the mirrored effect. (if that’s something your worried about)!

Ideally I wish I didn't have the mirrors because they're not dark enough. In anything other than direct sunlight, you can see right through them, so I want a little more privacy. 

I'll look into llumar, thanks!

Great, thanks for the help really appreciate the time.  

Does it look like the fronts are also mirror finished? Or is that how regular glass looks?

1 hour ago, jh812 said:

What kind of vehicle is it?

1997 pathfinder 

heres a pic of it on an identical vehicle 

My truck has this green/mirror privacy glass that came stock from the factory. I believe it's part of the glass. 

In sunlight it's good but other than that, it's not dark enough.

I want to tint to make it darker. How do I decide the %? 

Also, if I tint it, is it going to be still mirror finish? I'd prefer to have it look dark and black.